2024 S2 Reading Effectively and Creatively

Know your audience Who is it that you want to communicate your findings to? Are they experts or practitioners in the field? Are they policy and decision makers who can influence a change in policy? Are they community groups or interest groups who can further promote behavioural change within their communities or advocacy networks? Are they members of the public? Or a specific subset of the public, such as parents, young people, or university undergraduates? How can I reach them most effectively? Find out as much as you can about your intended audience. What are their priorities and pressures? Do they have a specific ideology or outlook? Are they likely to be receptive to what you are saying, or should you expect to be challenged? What level of existing knowledge on the subject can you expect them to have? Where do they access this knowledge? What organisations and individuals have the most influence on my audience? When is the best time to engage them? Communicating your research should not wait until the end of a project. Think about building contacts and planning engagement throughout your research. Do you want to present all your findings in a single one-off event? Do you want to update your potential audience on a regular basis? Can it be useful to elicit feedback on an on-going basis to improve and contribute to the research?